Giant Dragon Lord: Starting from Daily Intelligence

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Burning the Chain of Camps

An overly nervous bandit on watch mistook a passing Night Owl for a Pegasus Knight and screamed at the top of his lungs, ”They’re here! They’re here!”

Instantly, the entire camp erupted into chaos.

Countless men were jolted from their sleep or sprang up from a light doze, frantically grabbing their weapons and looking around in panic.

”Where? Where are they?”

”Quick! Prepare for battle!”

Carl and his chieftains also rushed out, nervously scanning the sky.

However, there was nothing in the night sky but a few sparse Stars and the occasional passing cloud.

”What are you screaming about! It’s just a bird!”

A sharp-eyed chieftain who had spotted the startled Night Owl cursed irritably.

The bandit who raised the false alarm was kicked hard, and he cowered on the ground without daring to make a sound.

After the false alarm, the atmosphere in the camp grew even more oppressive and tense.

This state of constant paranoia was severely draining the bandits’ energy and morale.

In stark contrast to the chaos and fear in the Blood Wolf Corps’ camp, Black Stone Town was a scene of perfect order and bright lights.

Inside the town’s council hall, Ed was reporting the day’s battle situation and the enemy’s movements to Raylo.

Raylo sat in the main seat. After listening to Ed’s report, he nodded with a hint of approval.

”Well done, Ed. The initial strikes achieved the desired effect, successfully blunting their edge and slowing their advance.”

Ed bowed slightly. ”It’s mainly thanks to the Lord’s excellent strategy.”

Raylo waved his hand dismissively, his gaze shifting to the simple map hanging on the wall, which marked the current location of the Blood Wolf Corps’ encampment.

”They chose to camp at the bottom of a gentle slope. It’s open, but it also lacks cover. That man Carl is brave, to be sure, but he lacks strategy. He’s also overly confident in his core forces and neglects overall morale and logistics.”

A Civil Servant in charge of logistics stepped forward.

”Lord, the Knights are fully rested and provisioned. The Pegasi have been fed the best fodder. As you ordered, we have prepared a large amount of lamp oil and tinder.”

Raylo nodded.

”Excellent. Tonight, these jackals who dare to covet Black Stone Town will get a taste of Blazing Fire.”

He looked at Ed.

”Ed, I’m entrusting the night raid to you. Remember, the goal is to create maximum chaos and panic, burn their supplies and tents, and completely crush their will to resist. Be careful. Don’t get bogged down in fighting.”

”Yes, Lord!”

The fire of battle ignited in Ed’s eyes as well.

The daytime harassment was just an appetizer. Tonight’s raid was the key to deciding the victor.

Outside the council hall, the Pegasus Knights were making their final preparations.

They inspected their Bows and Arrows, fastening cloth bundles and small clay pots soaked in lamp oil to their saddles. Their faces showed no trace of nervousness, only the excitement and resolve of impending battle.

「The night deepened.」

The moon was hidden by thick clouds, with only a few stubborn stars twinkling faintly through the gaps. The wind on the plains seemed to have died down, and the air was so heavy it felt like it could drip.

In the Blood Wolf Corps’ camp, the campfires slowly dimmed. Aside from a few sentries still holding on, most of the bandits had succumbed to exhaustion, curling up on the cold ground in a restless, shallow sleep.

They had no idea that in the pitch-black sky above their heads, a group of true reapers were silently spreading their wings.

Ed mounted his Pegasus and gently patted its neck.

The Pegasus let out a low whinny, as if it too could sense its master’s fighting spirit.

”Move out!”

Ed barked, taking to the sky first.

Over twenty Pegasus Knights followed close behind, melting into the thick night like ghosts.

The darkness was the perfect cover.

Using the clouds for cover, the Pegasus Knights arrived silently directly above the Blood Wolf Corps’ camp.

Looking down from high above, the campfires on the ground looked like scattered embers, faint and tiny.

The camp was silent, save for the occasional mumble from a sleeping bandit and the faint clinking of a sentry’s armor.

Ed gave a hand signal, and the Pegasus Knights immediately fanned out like a great net, covering the sky above the entire camp.

In a tent at the center of the camp, Carl tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

A powerful sense of unease gnawed at him, making his eyelid twitch.

He sat up abruptly, grabbed the Curved Saber beside him, and decided to go check on things.

The moment he lifted the tent flap, disaster struck!

”Now!”

Ed’s cold voice, like a reaper’s whisper, cut through the silent night sky.

The Pegasus Knights, long since ready, acted at once!

Controlling their Pegasi, they dove from hundreds of meters up, like falling stars!

”WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!”

This time, it wasn’t the sound of arrows slicing through the air, but the whistle of lit torches and oil pots cutting through the atmosphere as they were thrown down!

One after another, ignited cloth bundles and small clay pots soaked in lamp oil rained down like hail!

They landed precisely on the bandits’ crude tents, in the areas where rations and shoddy Weapons were stored, and among the crowds huddled together for warmth!

”BOOM!”

The first oil pot smashed onto one of the largest tents. The pot shattered, splashing oil everywhere. When it met a nearby campfire, it instantly erupted into a raging inferno!

The dry Beast Hides and wood became the perfect fuel, and the fire spread with astonishing speed!

Immediately after, more fires erupted all across the camp!

”Fire!”

”Enemy attack! It’s those bird-men!”

”Help me!”

Piercing screams and panicked shouts instantly filled the entire camp!

The once-silent night was completely shattered!

Countless bandits sleeping soundly were jolted awake to the sight of a sea of fire and chaos!

Flames devoured the tents, illuminating the night as if it were day, and a searing heat wave washed over them.

Thick smoke billowed, choking them and making it impossible to breathe.

Panic spread like a plague!

The bandits ran around like headless chickens.

Some tried to beat out the flames on their bodies, letting out blood-curdling shrieks. Others tried to escape the inferno, only to be pushed down by the panicked crowd and trampled. Still others were completely terrified, dropping their Weapons and fleeing aimlessly into the dark wilderness like frightened rabbits.

Carl stared, his eyes bloodshot with rage, at the hellish scene before him.

”Fight back! Archers! Shoot! Shoot those bastards down for me!”

Carl roared at the top of his lungs, brandishing his Curved Saber as he tried to organize a resistance.

But in such a state of chaos and panic, his commands were weak and ineffective.

The Archers were either trapped in the fire themselves or scared out of their wits. How could they possibly mount an effective counterattack?

Even the few arrows that flew into the sky were as feeble as the ones from that afternoon, posing no threat whatsoever to the Pegasus Knights as they dove and climbed at high speed.

The Pegasus Knights were like efficient executioners, coldly carrying out their mission.

After dropping all their incendiaries, they didn’t leave immediately. Instead, they circled above the inferno, drew their Bows and Arrows, and began picking off anyone who tried to organize a resistance or looked like a chieftain with pinpoint accuracy.

”THWACK!”

A fierce bandit swinging an Axe, trying to chop down a burning tent, collapsed as an arrow buried itself deep in his back.

”Agh!” Another chieftain with a thick beard, who was trying to rally his men, screamed as he clutched his shoulder, blood staining his clothes.

In the camp, the fire grew larger and larger, nearly setting the entire slope ablaze.

The remaining bandits had completely lost their will to fight, driven only by the instinct to survive.

They cried and cursed, scrambling to escape the field of death, scattering in all directions into the darkness.

The tattered wolf-head banner, the symbol of the Blood Wolf Corps, fluttered a few times in the Blazing Fire before it was finally consumed by the Flame and turned to ash.

Carl watched it all, his heart filled with grief and fury.

’It’s over!’

’It’s all over!’

His so-called main force had proven as fragile as paper in the face of this fire from the heavens.

”Black Stone Territory... Raylo...”

Carl spat out the names through gritted teeth, his voice like the low growl of a wounded beast.

He knew the Blood Wolf Corps had been utterly and completely crushed this time.

「Far away in Black Stone Town.」

Raylo gazed at the pillar of fire rising in the distance.

”Only Aerial Cavalry can fight Aerial Cavalry!”

Raylo remarked with emotion.